Naturally, when my best friend's mother called me on the night of his birthday, sobbing that he was dead, I didn't really know what to feel. Thing was that Devin's birthday was on April 1st, which is April's Fools Day. I was barely understanding what she was saying, most of the time she was either weeping or sniffling.
I believed it was a joke. No - I didn't think it was a joke, but I forced myself to believe it was a joke. So I laughed. I ignored her whimpers and cries and laughed and laughed, each noise coming from the back of my throat sounding like a broken record. All fake. Cracked and broken. My choked laughter died out the sound of Mrs. Fisher's sobs.
"Elliot, are you okay, dear?" She had whispered, her voice scratched and bruised.
I stopped laughing, but I didn't stop smiling. I needed to do something to stop the feeling of apprehension from expanding in my mind and dripping to my gut. "Real dandy, Mrs. Fisher. Quite a humor you've got there."
She didn't say anything for a while. Instead she breathed heavily. Finally, she spoke, "He jumped from a cliff into water. Elliot, he's dead."
And so I rolled over on my bed, dropping my phone on the floor in the process, and puked.
YOU ARE READING
Secrets Beneath the Surface
Mystery / ThrillerWhen Elliot James receieved a call from his best friend's mom, saying that he committed suicide, Elliot broke down. He lapsed into weeks of hardship, depression, and carelessness. A couple weeks later, when things were starting to settle down, Ellio...
